New Building Codes? Let's Clean House!

Paying through the nose: When Hurricane Andrew slashed across South Florida, leaving entire communities flattened, it was followed by the usual government stupidity.

Already, says David Beitz, Seminole County building official, new building codes are costing local builders $1,300 to $3,000 more per home. The stupidity, he says, is that most of the new regulations fail to address problems found in Andrew's aftermath. It is overkill, he says.

And count Beitz as one government bureaucrat who eschews regulation for the sake of regulation. He is offering to lead a fight against what he sees as unnecessary and costly regulations.

Beitz, who toured South Florida after the storm as a member of a committee from the Southern Building Code Congress, said structural failures stemmed from two causes: noncompliance with building codes and penetration of the ''building envelope'' (that means something carried by the wind broke a window, allowing wind inside).

The scandal of lax building inspections has been addressed. What has Beitz's dander up is that most of the code changes do not address problems found after the storm.

About 70 percent of the code changes address sheer wall strength.

''And we didn't see a single instance of sheer wall failure in South Florida,'' Beitz said.

Not even roofs, the focus of about 20 percent of the code revisions, were a problem if they had been installed even close to the methods outlined in the code, he said.

The primary problem was envelope invasion. When wind is allowed inside a house, an explosion can result. In South Florida, once a home's roof was gone, walls lost their strength and were at the mercy of the winds.

But 90 percent of the new regulations address nonproblems, says Beitz, and it's the home buyers who pay.

Another case of bureaucratic bungling, huh?

Not entirely, he says. The Legislature directed that changes be made, and many other politicians wanted to be seen as acting in the public's interest. That meant changes, any changes, would be seen as good.

Enter the building materials people, who - more than anyone else - influence a code. A stronger code can mean more sales, never mind that the added strength is not necessary. The code revisions sound so plausible.

There are some good points in the new codes, Beitz says. Come September, shutters or glass that can withstand a two-by-four hurled at 34 mph will be required in coastal areas. (The same code may be required in interior counties next year.)

Bill Miller, president of Suda Construction Co. and a former president of the Home Builders Association of Mid-Florida, agrees with Beitz that the regulations are overkill.

The result is a higher home price tag. And with each price increase, some family is ruled out of home ownership. So much for affordable housing concerns.

Every industry has its shortcut-takers, says Miller. And there are builders who, for whatever reason, will cut corners, as Andrew disclosed. Most builders, though, want to do what is right, he says, and existing codes will suffice if they are followed.

As a matter of fact, he goes further than Beitz, who touts the benefits of shuttered windows. At some point, says Miller, personal responsibility must take over. Before each storm, he notes, newspapers publish lists of tips, such as tying down or bringing inside anything that could become a missile in a storm - something that could break a window, penetrating that envelope.

Perhaps one answer lies in what at least one insurance company is already doing in South Florida: Those who refuse to install shutters on existing homes are hit with a 3 percent penalty; those who install shutters get a 15 percent per year discount. Incentives work.

At any rate, Beitz, the government regulator, and Miller, the builder, agree: The public will pay through the nose for something not needed. But what the hey - we will feel good.